adminAccording to police, the crimes committed by these fugitives include petty thefts, domestic violence, rape, fraud and murder. Some of the criminals on the run are hiding in the country and many of them have obviously moved away from their usual places of residence. These criminals are living in communities and some members of the public are aware that these criminals are on the run but are not reporting them to the police.
The police can only succeed in apprehending these criminals with co-operation from members of the public. It is therefore incumbent upon each and every peace-loving citizen to ensure that society is rid of these undesirable elements by reporting them to the police.
Police have come up with many strategies of protecting the informants such as the use of suggestion boxes and police hotlines. Many of these criminals threaten to harm anyone who dares report their presence to the police but the truth is that those who make reports and do not want to be identified are protected. What the members of the public should know is that these are just empty threats made to dissuade people from reporting criminals to the police.
What people should appreciate is that crime knows no boundary so today it might be your neighbour who is a victim and if that criminal or criminals are not accounted for, tomorrow they might pounce on you.
We have already alluded to the fact that it should be the responsibility of every citizen to rid society of criminals. Communities should make their respective areas undesirable places for criminals by quickly identifying strangers who are then reported to the police. The people living in the neighbourhood should know each other and there should be a system of alerting others in the event of visitors coming in an area.
Communities that have allowed their places to be turned into safe havens for criminals have paid or will pay dearly for supping with these undesirable elements. These communities cannot sleep soundly fearing that the criminals can pounce anytime. Many of the criminals that have skipped borders usually visit their families during Christmas and other public holidays and it should be the responsibility of these families and their neighbours to alert the police of the presence of these criminals in the country.
It might sound awkward to ask relatives to report one of their own to the police but the same relatives should know that they might one day be victims of the fugitive’s criminal activities. Relatives have been killed while others have lost large sums of money to their own relatives who have turned criminals.
It is a criminal offence to harbour criminals so those relatives who decided not to report the presence of their relatives who have been hiding in neighbouring countries after committing crime, risk being arrested.
Each year during Christmas festivities and other public holidays, the country witnesses an upsurge in crimes especially armed robberies committed by returning Zimbabweans from South Africa commonly referred to as injiva. These injiva will be operating from their homes so their relatives by failing to report them to the police are in fact accomplices. These relatives are pampered by “dirty” money and as such they deserve to be punished as well.
We want to once again urge Zimbabweans to play their role in ensuring that society is rid of criminals.
Online Reporter